Wonderful Movie

disgusting, overrated, pointless

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

'Orphans of the Storm' is one of the last very successful films by D.W. Griffith, and it stays as one of his all times best. Again using lot of visual effects and great battle scenes with hundreds of extras. Still no one hasn't surpass Griffith as the master of epic melodramas mixed with historical events.Again Griffith uses his favorite themes - injustice, violence, doomed love, and tragic characters. Set at the times of French Revolution, Lillian (Henriette) and Dorothy Gish (Louise) stars as orphaned sisters (last time they both appeared together in Griffith's film). When Louise loses her eyesight her sister Henriette decides to take her to the doctor in Paris where they get mixed in the plans of immoral aristocrat de Praille, a beggar Mother Frochard, and turmoil of the Revolution. That would be the story short. But like Griffith's previous epics, 'Orphans of the Storm' is quite fast paced and filled with edge on your seat moments until the dramatic conclusion. Griffith masterfully uses every device of delay to heighten the suspense, thus proving he was the 'master of suspense' before The Master of Suspense Alfred Hithcock.

The bigwig is the patriarch of narrative. With "Those Awful Hats" 1909, "Corner in Wheat", "The Painted Lady" and many of his biographs, you can sense that this is a man who understands the lexicon of cinema (though did not pioneer it in the same sense that George Albert Smith made the close-up or how Louis Lumiere showed the first train interacting with an American audience), he is still responsible for crosscutting and this is evident in "What Shall we Do with our Old", "Birth of a Nation", "The Muskateers from Pig Alley" and onwards.Intolerance ranks as one of the most potent films ever made by a one trick pony. Many say Welles was the greatest innovator - well, he did do something of fresh sinew, but he himself also quoted Griffith's intolerance as an influence to his illustrious debut. Kubrick as well says that he was like Ikurus, when he flew too close to the sun and melted, but regardless he was ambitious at changing film from a novelty to a revered art.So enter "Orphans of the Storm" his period film (similar to that of an older french film he done "The Sealed Room"), which is in essence, topping with Amadeus and Barry Lyndon as the great period drama. And it's this because of the enlightening irrevocable effect of the films doctrines. The french revolutionists are selfish people and Maximilien Robespierre is the one that fostered it. The film chronicles the tragedy of Jean Picard's decision to allow his Daughters to live in luxury. With this judicious, yet regretful decision, Louise (Dorothy Griffith) and Henriette (Lillian Gish) are born. Later in life, Louise is blind and Henriette, her consolable sister, finds word about a cure for it. When they travel away they're separated into the darkness - Louise is lost and Henriette is taken away only to be saved by an anti-french revolutionist Chevalier De Vaudrey, who as one person in the film puts it "I wish more aristocrats were like you" and Louise then falls into the trap of Frochard, which in sequence we see one of the best dolly shots pulled away as she gets manipulated as she is used as a singer in order to get money. Where the reign takes its toll against the Bolshevism, Jacques-Forget-Not subverts the system periodically and this is so powerful because of how character driven it really is, you can empathise with these peoples struggle. However with certain scenes, such as the one where a Man sits on the back of a French Revolutionist, it seems ridiculous, to me it shows how the place has been rendered to many dolorous people. The movie is probably Griffith's least melodramatic film. Its interplay with appropriate characters, offset by a poignant time and ornate setting. The movie is mesmerising - the swordsmanship, the guillotine, the carts, the costume - it all feels authentic and Griffith really wanted to adapt the book faithfully, and that was conducive to the manifestation of a bulb that is replete with such melancholy, ambivalence and escapism.No matter what, the napoleonic scale (as with his prior films) never ceases to spellbind me. I find Griffith entertaining because he's the illusionist that creates totalitarians and characters who we strive for in their victory, and it's all in quick succession. A time well spent.

Before and during the French Revolution, "Orphans of the Storm" Lillian and Dorothy Gish (as Henriette and Louise Girard) "suffer through tyranny and selfishness." During the Plague, the sisters lose their parents, and Dorothy goes blind; but, Lillian vows to care for her sister forever, declaring, "I'll see for you." And, she does, for awhile... When the sisters learn the city may hold a cure for Dorothy's blindness; they journey to Paris. There, Lillian is accosted by lusty aristocrat Morgan Wallace (as Marquis de Praille), but she rejects his advances. Mr. Wallace decides he must have Lillian, and arranges to have her abducted for an upcoming orgy; this leaves the blind Dorothy helpless, on the streets of Paris. She is rescued by street beggar Frank Puglia (as Pierre Frochard); unfortunately, his mother Lucille La Verne is a cruel hag, who abuses Dorothy. Joseph Schildkraut (as Chevalier de Vaudrey) falls for, and rescues Lillian, but finding her blind sister during the French Revolution proves to be quite le problème.D.W. Griffith and company are triumphant in this (yet another) breathtakingly beautiful film; the direction, photography, sets, and editing, and performances are superb. Lillian and Dorothy Gish are flawless as the "Orphans of the Storm" (this was the last Griffith/Gish cinematic team-up). The children who play the Gish sisters look and act amazingly like their adult counterparts. Mr. Schildkraut is quaint, yet charming, as Lillian's leading man; he is a romantic ideal, kissing her tears and stroking her face; after the revolution, he becomes quite strong. Dorothy's relationship with poor Puglia is an unexpected pleasure; Puglia is given, and gives, a surprisingly vivid characterization; as his mother, Ms. La Verne is deliciously wretched - you can almost see her tonsils as she cackles! The "Frochard" family (La Verne, Puglia and Sheldon Lewis) help give the film a Charles Dickens touch. Monte Blue is thunderous as revolutionary Danton, and Creighton Hale quirky as Picard. One of the characters gets it in the end. ********** Orphans of the Storm (12/28/21) D.W. Griffith ~ Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Joseph Schildkraut, Frank Puglia

By today's standards, ORPHANS IN THE STORM would be considered way too melodramatic or believable. There are just so many improbable situations and far from subtle moments. However, when you realize that back in the early 1920s this was not considered the case, you can appreciate the film so much more. Now this does not mean that every silent movie abounded with these elements, but they were far more acceptable then than they are now.Lillian Gish and her real-life sister, Dorothy, star as the two orphaned sisters. One, Dorothy, is actually the daughter of a Countess that was left on the steps of the church, but they are as devoted as any two sisters can be. Years later, the parents that raised them died from plague and Dorothy was left blinded. So, Lillian decides to take her sister to Paris to see if the doctors there can help restore her sight. Unfortunately for them both, they leave just as the French Revolution is about to erupt (talk about your lousy timing).On the way there, the girls are met by a slimy nobleman. He wants to rape Lillian and arranges for some thugs to kidnap her--leaving blind Dorothy to wander the streets at night! This is a pretty harrowing moment in the film and ultimately an evil lowlife finds her and takes her to live in her subterranean lair--figuring she can use Dorothy's blindness to beg for lots of coins. Dorothy doesn't want to but is tortured into compliance.In the meantime, Lillian arrives at a debaucherous party where the nobleman plans on raping her in front of his party guests. However, one nice guy (who turns out to be Dorothy's biological half-brother, a count) sees her plight and helps her escape. This earns the ire of the nobles but the guy is too fundamentally decent to allow this.A bit later, some more scumbag nobles (and most of them are in the movie) tries to have the Revolutionary leader, Danton, murdered. The injured man stumbles about the street as the assassins are following until he is found and rescued by Lillian.There is a budding romance between Lillian and the Count, but before it can progress any further, the Count is imprisoned for having the affront to want to marry a commoner and Lillian is thrown into a prison for "fallen women". I never heard of such a place and assume it was all made up for the movie! A short time later, the Revolution occurs and as a result the two lovers are released from prison. However, Dorothy is still missing and she only comes to light when Lillian and the Count are brought before the court for being monarchists! They are both sentenced to death as Dorothy is in the crowd and recognizes her sister and vice-versa. They are drug away to the guillotine several miles away as Dorothy screams and yells like a banshee. Minutes later, Danton arrives and realizes the miscarriage of justice has occurred. He makes an impassioned plea and gets the court to rescind the execution order. But, the carts with the two lovers is almost at the scaffold so Danton and his men race to rescue them at the very last second (Lillian already has her head inside the Guillotine when they arrive). The final scene shows everyone happy together. Huzzah! Despite being so melodramatic and having so many coincidences, the film's energy and drama keep you riveted. In other words, you KNOW it's over-the-top but because the movie is so well-crafted, you don't mind. Huge and impressive sets and costumes abound and the print from Kino Video was excellent. By the way, the apartment where Lillian lived in much of the movie is recognizable from several other films, including another D. W. Griffith film, BROKEN BLOSSUMS and I also recognized it from some of the FRANKENSTEIN movies.An interesting point about this film is that several times during the film, the title cards talk about the "evils of Bolshevism"--saying that the French Revolution was akin to the recent Russian Revolution. While there are definite parallels, this was more a statement about the times in which the film was made as opposed to 1789.A very important film historically and one of the last films of Griffith to make money. Unlike his evil BIRTH OF A NATION, this film deserved the accolades and success it attained.A final note: In the movies, Danton was rightfully shown as one of the decent leaders of the Revolution who fought for justice, not mass murder. However, they never mentioned that ultimately he was guillotined at the end of the era for questioning the direction of the revolutionary government, and in particular, Robespierre. Only a few weeks later, in reaction to this execution, Robespierre himself was executed and the Reign of Terror came to an end.